George Colman the Younger
George Colman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 21 October 1762 |
| Died | 17 October 1836(aged 73) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Westminster School; Christ Church, Oxford; King's College, Aberdeen |
| Occupation(s) | Playwright;examiner of plays |
George Colman(21 October 1762 – 17 October 1836), known as "the Younger",was anEnglishdramatistand miscellaneous writer. He was the son ofGeorge Colman the Elder.
Life[edit]
He passed fromWestminster SchooltoChrist Church, Oxford,andKing's College,University of Aberdeen,and was finally entered as a student oflawatLincoln's Inn,London. While in Aberdeen, he published a poem satirizingCharles James Fox,calledThe Man of the People.In 1782 he produced his first play,The Female Dramatist,at his father's playhouse inthe Haymarket.[1]
The failing health of the elder Colman obliged him to relinquish the management of the Haymarket theatre in 1789, when the younger George succeeded him, at a yearly salary of £600. On the death of the father the patent was continued to the son; however, difficulties arose, as he was involved in litigation with Thomas Harris and was unable to pay the expenses of the performances at the Haymarket. He was forced to take sanctuary within the Rules of theKing's Bench Prison.He resided for many years while he continued to direct the affairs of his theatre.[1]
Released through the kindness ofGeorge IV,who had appointed him exon. of theYeomen of the Guard,a dignity Colman disposed to the highest bidder. In 1824, theduke of Montrose- thenLord Chamberlain- made him theexaminer of plays.He held this position until his death, to the disgust of all contemporary dramatists, to whose manuscripts he was illiberal and severe equally. Although his own productions were open to charges of indecency and profanity, he censored others’ work to the extent that he would not pass even such words as "heaven", "providence" or "angel".[1]
He had, as early as 1784, contracted a runaway marriage with an actress, Clara Morris, to whose brother David Morris, he disposed of his share in the Haymarket theatre eventually. He wrote many of the leading parts in his plays forMaria Gibbs(née Logan) especially, whom he married at Clerkenwell in June 1836[1]after the death of his first wife that January.[2]
He died inBrompton, London.He was buried alongside his father inKensington Church.[3]
Works[edit]
His comedies are a curious mixture of genuine comic force and sentimentality. A collection of them was published (1827) in Paris, with a life of the author, by J. W. Lake.[1]
His first play,The Female Dramatist(1782), for whichSmollett'sRoderick Randomsupplied the materials, was unanimously condemned, butTwo to One(1784) was entirely successful. It was followed byTurk and no Turk(1785), a musical comedy;Inkle and Yarico(1787), anopera;Ways and Means(1788);The Surrender of Calais(1791);The Battle of Hexham(1793);The Iron Chest(1796), taken fromWilliam Godwin'sAdventures of Caleb Williams;The Heir at Law(1797), which enriched the stage with one immortal character, "Dr Pangloss" (borrowed of course fromVoltaire'sCandide);The Poor Gentleman(1802);John Bull, or an Englishman's Fireside(1803),[4]his most successful piece; and numerous other pieces, many of them adapted from theFrench.[1]His comic operaLove Laughs at Locksmithsis the first known appearance of the folk songThe Unfortunate Miss Bailey,which became a popular hit in early 1800's New York. The song was later included in folk song collections including theBurl Ivessongbook, and was recorded byThe Kingston Trioon their albumHere We Go Again!in 1959. Folklorists at the Traditional Ballad Index attribute authorship of the song to either of the George Colmans, but surmise that the Younger is the more likely.[5]
Colman, whose witty conversation made him a favourite, was also the author of a great deal of so-called humorous poetry (mostly coarse, though much of it was popular) –My Night Gown and Slippers(1797), reprinted under the name ofBroad Grins,in 1802; andPoetical Vagaries(1812). Some of his writings were published under the assumed name of Arthur Griffinhood of Turnham Green.[1]
Literary hoaxes[edit]
After his death, Colman was stated falsely to have been the author of certainpornographicworks.The Rodiad,onflagellation,was published byJohn Camden Hottenin 1871, dated to 1810 and ascribed to Colman falsely;[6]the true author may have beenRichard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton.[7][8][9]Canadian authorJohn Glasscomaintained and extended the hoax in 1967 by repeating the attribution and also claiming that Colman wrote hisSquire Hardman.[10]
Further reading[edit]
See the second George Colman's memoirs of his early life, entitledRandom Records(1830), and RB Peake,Memoirs of the Colman Family(1842).
Selected plays[edit]
- John Bull(1803)
- Who Wants a Guinea?(1805)
References[edit]
- ^abcdefgChisholm 1911.
- ^Terry Jenkins, 'The true facts of Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes' inTraces; uncovering Australia's past,No. 13 (Melbourne, December 2020).
- ^Dictionary of National Biography
- ^archive.org
- ^Waltz, Robert B. (2021)."The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World".The Traditional Ballad Index.Retrieved27 October2021.
- ^Knight, George Wilson (1971).Neglected powers: essays on nineteenth and twentieth century literature.Routledge. p.129.ISBN0-7100-6681-3.
- ^Whyte, Christopher (1995).Gendering the nation: studies in modern Scottish literature.Edinburgh University Press. p.216.ISBN0-7486-0619-X.
- ^Lycett, Andrew (12 March 2001). "Erotic heaven".New Statesman.
- ^Nelson, James G. (2000).Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson.Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 10.ISBN0-271-01974-3.
- ^Hammill, Faye (2009). "John Glassco, Canadian erotica and the 'Lying Chronicle'".In Anctil, Pierre; Loiselle, Andre; Rolfe, Christopher (eds.).Canada exposed.Canadian Studies. Vol. 20. Peter Lang. pp. 279–296.ISBN978-90-5201-548-4.
Attribution:
- Knight, John Joseph (1887)..InStephen, Leslie(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 11. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Colman, George s.v. His son, George Colman".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 695.
External links[edit]
